Marshmallow Thrills Ice Cream

Over the past several months, I’ve shared a handful of cherished recipes (like this, this, and this) from my grandma’s old and tattered recipe book. None has intrigued me more than the one I’m sharing today. The recipe itself is actually super simple. Really it’s the name that got me. In the recipe book, it’s titled Marshmallow Thrills. What in the world could this possibly be?! Really, Marshmallow Thrills?

Turns out it’s a crazy easy no-churn orange ice cream made with marshmallows! I could have just called it Creamy Orange Ice Cream, but that’s not nearly as attention-getting as Marshmallow Thrills Ice Cream!

I’ve mentioned my grandma’s recipe book many times, but I realized I haven’t actually posted a photo of it. As you can see, it’s seen better days! There are some gems in this book, though, and it’s really priceless. One of the things I love about it is that my grandma actually typed out some of the recipes (like Marshmallow Thrills) on a typewriter! Not so different than typing them in an online recipe box, right? Different technology!

So, here’s the original Marshmallow Thrills Ice Cream recipe. Not only typed out on a typewriter, but there are also references to the freezing tray of the refrigerator! Believe it or not, this recipe pre-dates freezers! There actually are several recipes in the book that reference the freezing tray. At first, I had no idea what it meant, but then I figured it out.

I’ve kept the recipe mostly the same, with the exception of the marshmallows. As you can see, the directions indicate for individual marshmallows to be cut into 8 pieces! Do you really want to do that? I know I don’t!

Considering the recipe pre-dates freezers, I think we can rightly assume it also pre-dates mini-marshmallows! So, I took the liberty of equating whole marshmallows to mini-marshmallows so we don’t need to wear out our kitchen shears by cutting up whole marshmallows into itty-bitty pieces!

Marshmallow Thrills Ice Cream is very reminiscent of the frothy Orange Julius drink, and it makes sense since the Orange Julius is generally nothing more than orange juice concentrate, sugar, and milk. The ingredients we’re using are just as simple and easy – only more so!

How awesome is it that Marshmallow Thrills is a no-churn ice cream precursor?! Even back in the day, when life was much simpler, they were looking for ways to simplify ice cream recipes! Totally timeless, and they don’t get much easier than this!